Kristoff Teaches Anna how to Ski
by nutmeg404
Summary: It's the first natural winter to blanket Arendelle since Elsa lost control of her powers. Kristoff has some time off from his duties as the Official Ice Master and Deliverer and decides to give Anna a skiing lesson. Rated T for minor swearing.
1. Butterflies

_Author's note: A little prequel at the beginning. I thought the conversation between Elsa and Anna about rewarding Kristoff would be fun to write. It takes place after the ice skating rink scene in the movie.  
_

Anna followed Elsa into the entrance hall, wobbling on her skates as she awkwardly walked across the floor.

"Who's the man you brought to my ice castle?" Elsa asked casually.

"Oh! That's Kristoff. I have something about him I need to ask –"

The queen raised a hand. "You can't marry him," she interjected quickly. Elsa wasn't about to let her sister stumble blindly after someone else after the fiasco with Hans.

Anna laughed. "Oh, no. We're just – we're friends," she insisted. The girl did feel a strange palpitation in her heart whenever she saw him, but was that love? The princess knew she needed more time to figure out her feelings. She had to admit her sister had been right about Hans. Maybe Anna could sneak off to consult the trolls later.

"I promised him a new sled in exchange for helping me find you," she explained. "He's been amazing. Kristoff deserves more than just a sleigh."

Elsa looked into her sister's face, carefully gauging her emotions. After what felt like forever to Anna, her sister smiled and nodded.

"A palace with an ice queen needs an Official Ice Deliverer. And the latest sleigh model. Does he require a steed from the palace?"

"Oh no, he has Sven – his reindeer," Ana rushed forward and squeezed her sister in a suffocating hug. "Thanks so much! I'm going to go surprise Kristoff!" She rushed off.

Elsa clasped her hands together and shook her head slightly at Ana's swinging brown braid as it whipped around a corner. Kristoff didn't seem like a bad egg. She would have to keep an eye on the pair just in case. It was okay to be protective of her sister, right?

**Several months later, in the heart of winter**

"Aren't you going to finish breakfast?" Elsa cast a critical gaze over at Anna, who had barely eaten any of the hash browns and sausage piled on her plate.

The younger sister motioned for a servant to take away her still heavy plate. She shook her head and excused herself from the table.

"Kristoff promised to teach me how to ski today," Anna explained. Her stomach jumped around with so much excitement she didn't feel like she could hold anything in.

"You haven't even finished your hot chocolate," Elsa noted with concern.

Anna slid across the dining room floor and leaned over to give her sister a reassuring hug.

"I'm not sick, if that's what you're worried about."

The queen shook her head and smiled. "Don't be silly. Go have fun." She watched Anna rush out of the room.

She rose from her place and nodded for the servants to remove her dish as well. Elsa strode over to the expansive panes of glass, watching the gently falling snowflakes chase each other in neat little spirals.

The older sister felt happy that Anna enjoyed spending time with the ice messenger. She didn't have as much free time as Anna, who didn't have matriarchal duties to tend to. A tiny smile lit up Elsa's face as she watched the princess dance across the courtyard, pausing to catch a few snowflakes on her tongue before vanishing inside the stable.

A pang crossed her heart as she thought back to the simpler days before the power struck Anna's heart – happy, carefree, and innocent. Jealousy that Kristoff was out enjoying a fine winter day with her sister instead of Elsa drooped her smile slightly. She raised a hand and blew a random pattern of snowflakes against the window and traced a doodle into the frosted pane. Elsa knew she couldn't keep Anna all to herself, but a large piece of herself wished to be heading out on the slopes with her.

Anna thanked the holster for getting her horse ready and hoisted herself hastily into the saddle, reins grasped firmly in one hand. The girl rode off, trying to get accustomed to the strange feel of her strange clothes. Kristoff had warned her that skiing and dresses didn't mix well, so she had borrowed a thick pair of cotton breeches and a white shirt from a bemused male servant to wear under her winter cloak.

Anna urged her horse out of a sedate trot and into a canter as they cleared the worst of the town's foot traffic. They turned off the wide dirt road and followed a frozen rivers upwards that wound through the outskirts of the forest. Anna reached an expansive lake that showed recent signs of being sawed into by Kristoff and the other ice men.

She pulled her mare back into a trot as they ventured into a thin forest trail and sighed at the loneliness – Anna didn't understand why Kristoff hadn't requested a house to live in that was closer to the castle than this. Of course, she had bitten back the offer to stay in the palace – she knew better after Hans.

Anna supposed it wouldn't make sense to have an hour to commute back and forth each day. Poor Sven!

In the center of a small clearing a thick spiral of smoke rose from a modest log cabin with an attached stable. She gently pulled her steed to a halt, uncertain. Kristoff had never invited him to come to his house before. "You were born ready, Anna," she said out loud to herself, and nudged her mare closer.

The girl breathed out a frosty puff of air and gathered up the courage to go up to the entrance. The door decided for her, swinging open to reveal a whistling Kristoff burdened by a pair of skis and other equipment. The music cut short when he noticed Anna sitting in the saddle. A shy smile lit up his face. Sven emerged from the doorway, pushing the blonde forward. He stumbled down the wooden steps off balance as the reindeer bounded forward.

"Kristoff!" Anna grinned. The familiar heart flutter that always triggered when the man appeared twinged in her chest – or maybe she just felt a little gassy? She slid out of the saddle. Her cloak, embedded between a stirrup and the rest of the saddle, sent her tumbling into Kristoff's ready arms.

"Whoops," she giggled as he gently set her down. Anna turned to tug at the trapped fabric, wincing at the savage snarl it made as it tore.

The girl spun back around, aware her cheeks felt as red as the crimson stain spreading across Kristoff's cheeks. She also was hyper aware of the scant inches separating their lips.

They hadn't kissed since the day he'd been made the official Ice Deliverer of Arendelle. Yes, they talked plenty and had some fun adventures in the past six months, but nothing more to suggest he thought of her as more than a friend. They even had a couple of squabbles! Anna thought that was strange. True love didn't work like that, did it?


	2. And Over the Hills We Go

_Wow! I wasn't expecting this many people to enjoy my story. Thanks everyone for the follows, favorites and the reviews. It's cool to see feedback from readers, especially positive notes. =) I haven't been able to work on this recently due to finals, sorry for the delay. This is the conclusion to the story._

Anna's eyes drifted downwards to Kristoff's tempting lips. She watched a smoky trail of breath escape as he hesitated and her heart leapt – maybe he was going to lean in for a kiss – but he turned away, ruffling his blonde hair hastily.

"You can leave your horse in the stable," he muttered as he bent to gather the hastily abandoned ski equipment.

"Right," Anna said, disappointment piercing her soul. She clucked to the mare as she grasped the reins and followed the sure crunch of Kristoff's boots sinking into the fluffy mounds of snow.

Her eyes assessed the tack that she had only handled a dozen times in her life. Usually this was a stable hand's job. There was no way she could ask Kristoff! The girl watched steam rise from the sweaty white flanks hesitantly, and slowly removed her mittens as she thought it over.

Kristoff grumbled to himself in the background as he readied his pristine sled for the journey, reminding Anna that she couldn't hover uncertainly for long. She recalled the nimble horse handler's hands and set to work, praying muscle memory would take over.

The cinch unbuckled easily; the saddle's weight leaned like a sack of rocks against her chest and threatened to tip the girl over as she stumbled backwards. A pair of masculine hands yanked forward on the molded leather.

Kristoff let go, allowing Anna to set saddle and blanket shakily against a large stack of hay bales by herself.

"Having an off day?" He asked, an indecipherable emotion burning in his brown eyes.

_Not when I'm with you_, Anna wanted to say. Instead she replied, "just a bit. But it won't affect my skiing". He wasn't going to say she was too clumsy for this and cancel, was he?

Kristoff's eyes lingered on her before reaching in to pat the horse's neck.

Anna nodded in relief and loosened the bridle with hands that shook from a mixture of nerves and excitement. Once her horse was situated in a roomy stall with plenty of hay and water, the pair climbed into the sled and set off for the North Mountain –a lower section than where Elsa's ice castle laid.

"Do you ski a lot?" Anna asked as she watched the frosted trees fly by.

"More when I was younger. Haven't really been out this year," he replied.

She nodded. The rest of the journey passed in a comfortable silence, like that of old friends that were happy to snuggle into the warmth of well-worn companionship.

They reached a clearing a half mile wide with a large jumble of rocks outlining the edge closest to them. Anna's heart pulsed in anticipation as she noted the land sharply dropped off from sight in a couple places. She itched to slap on her skis and shoot down the slopes, though her lack of experience with the sport kept her stationary – sort of.

Anna jiggled up and down excitedly in her seat. Sven twisted in his harness and uttered a soft, questioning reindeer bellow.

"You'll upset the thermos," Kristoff said lightly as he patted his fancy cup holder. "The snow's not going to run away".

"Right," she settled down when he squeezed her hand. His warmth radiated against her hands for a few lingering seconds before hopping down to drag the equipment down.

They each changed into a pair of leather ski boots. Anna perched on the sled's edge and stretched her feet out, admiring the new footwear.

Kristoff dropped a pair of skis into the snow and kept the other vertical in one hand. Anna stepped forward when he twitched his fingers. He slid the wooden material close and smiled.

"Perfect. Skis' tips should be between the nose and forehead of the skier," he explained.

"Lucky fit?" Anna guessed as she flipped her braid back.

"I might have asked Elsa to be my model," Kristoff confessed.

"Kristoff, how long does it take to make a pair of skis?"

"Awhile," he hedged.

Anna stepped forward and grasped his arm. "I only knew about this a week ago!" she accused. Her voice was soft and touched though, not angry. The fact that he had thoughtfully concocted a plan to give them some quiet provided a new perspective on the trip. Alone time with Kristoff was difficult to squeeze in, given their respective duties.

"I thought it would be nice if we could um, have a break, you know?" He asked nervously. "I don't like having a lot of people around all the time".

The princess stepped forward as she nodded. "It's perfect". Anna touched his cheek and felt a strong urge to close the space between them, but hesitated. The impossibility of having any private moments amidst the crowds of Arendelle was why they didn't have many romantic moments? If she was wrong and Kristoff's feelings had fizzled into nothing more than friendship, then this would be incredibly awkward.

A pair of sturdy arms wrapped around her small frame, pulling her in close and providing a strong answer. She felt like her heart was bursting with song as their lips met. As the kiss deepened it heated Anna pleasantly like a fine summer's day, erasing all traces of chill from the air.

They would have continued longer, except a large, wet reindeer nose burrowed between then.

"What about me?" Kristoff asked in a funky voice as they pulled back to look at the reindeer.

Anna laughed. "Sorry, Sven," she apologized. The princess had learned about this quirk early on, having stumbled upon an embarrassed Kristoff in the middle of a reindeer impersonation a short time after summer was saved.

She scratched behind his ears and planted a kiss between his antlers. Anna dug around in a cloak pocket and produced a mint, a poor substitute for carrots but unavoidable in these frosty temperatures.

Kristoff freed Sven from his harness and they strapped on their skis.

Anna grasped her poles awkwardly and propelled herself after Kristoff, who moved impossibly fast, skating to the two closest slopes. She trundled along like a fat penguin, happy that she was able to remain upright.

She peered over the edge, noting the descent closest to her was much steeper than the right branch that gently twisted away from the skiers.

"Are you ready?" Kristoff asked.

"You bet! I'll beat you to the bottom!" She jumped a little in excitement and her skis smacked solidly against the snow, sending little swirls of snowflakes down the mountain.

Kristoff laughed and brushed a stray snowflake from her freckled cheek, a slight blush rising in his face from the contact as he dropped his arm.

"It's not as simple as that," he cautioned. The man showed her how beginners started off with their skis in a wedge, or as he liked to call it, "a carrot".

Kristoff launched into some lengthy explanation about skiing while Anna lapsed into a mini fantasy involving her charging down the hill, kicking up fine white spray in his face as she sped away victorious. She nudged closer to the more difficult hill, a black diamond by a ski resort's standards. The girl loved the mixture of fear and adrenaline that pumped through her veins at the sight of it.

While the mountain man gesticulated, Anna accidentally slipped over the edge and went barreling straight down the steep run. She tried to force her legs into the wedge he'd taught her, but they fought her for control, and she felt the wind whistle by her ears at a terrifying velocity. Trees blurred into brown blobs as she whizzed by them.

"Shit." The ice man had been gazing towards the bunny slope while talked and Anna slipped over the edge. He caught sight of her braid trailing behind Anna like a desperately waving flag. Kristoff set off, carving into the mountain side like he was a natural born racer.

Luckily, Anna fell face first into a large mound of snow that had fallen from a cliff. She clawed at the now white world with little effect. Behind her, she heard the ominous sounds crunching through the snow and drawing nearer. Sven? Kristoff? Her imagination grew wilder as something yanked her legs and pulled her out of the snowdrift. She grasped one of her poles like a sword, thinking a pack of rabid wolves found her.

"Watch it!" Kristoff deflected Anna's wild swing and drew her into his arms. His eyes scanned every inch of her body anxiously, checking for injuries.

"I thought you were a wolf," she admitted.

The slight frown on his face wobbled slightly, then held firm.

"What were you doing?" Anna blinked in surprise. The usually sweet, easy going ice harvester sounded angrier than she could remember him ever being.

"I just – I was trying to get a good look," she said. Hot tears pricked the corner of her eyes. Anna blinked them back, determined not to seem like an overly emotional princess. Teetering on the edge like that without a second thought had been more dangerous than she thought – but all she had considered was how excited she was.

"If you got hurt – if anything happened to you – " his voice shook with emotion as he broke off as he looked into Anna's eyes.

Anna usually pinned her mistakes on being a klutz, but she probably wouldn't wandered over the edge if she hadn't been so wrapped up in her daydream.

She raised a hand to his handsome face thoughtfully. Sometimes Kristoff's shyness made her wonder how deeply he cared for her. Seeing him so upset about her blunder gave her a peek behind the door that he guarded so carefully.

"Sorry, Kristoff," she said softly. He let out a shaky sigh and brushed the clumps of snow off her.

"Let's try again." Kristoff whistled for Sven. The reindeer took them back to the summit and they slipped back into their skis.

This time Kristoff slipped up behind Anna and wedged his skis into a triangle in front of her own. He stabbed the snow with his poles and lightly gripped her shoulders. As a boy he had seen some of the mountain men do this with their toddlers, and it seemed like a good way to introduce the princess to the sport.

A pleasant chill raced down Anna's spine at his touch. They eased down the hill, making slow, wide turns that picked up in tempo, as if Kristoff could sense her desire for speed. They floated so lightly over the snow that Anna felt like she was flying. It was amazing, better than ice skating. She needed to get Elsa out here sometime.

Halfway down he halted and slid backwards, giving the princess the freedom to charge ahead on her own.

Anna grinned. "I'll race you!" She took off without giving Kristoff a chance to reply. The princess headed down at a fairly good pace for someone just learning, but the ice harvester easily passed her by. He knew some men liked to let girls win everything, but that seemed strange to him.

At the bottom Anna jerked awkwardly to a halt. She attempted to recreate the smooth, abrupt hockey stop that Kristoff had accomplished and crossed her skis, falling into the more experienced skier like a domino.

"It takes practice," was his reply to her garbled apologies as they untangled themselves. They played around on the slopes until lunchtime rolled around.

They split two thermoses filled to the brim with hot chocolate and chicken noodle soup. Anna grinned at his menu choice, knowing they would be eating carrots and chocolate bars if this was a summer outing.

With lunch wrapped up, they hit the slopes again. Anna felt like she built up confidence and speed with every run. The girl itched to challenge Kristoff to another race. Maybe when she was more experienced. Then she would really kick his butt!

The sun started to sink towards the horizon by the time their legs were too sore to carry on any longer. Anna switched back into her boots and helped Kristoff load the sled for the return trip.

She watched as Sven was expertly settled into his harness and sneaked up behind Kristoff to surprise him with a hug as he turned toward the sled.

"Today was amazing. Thanks, Kristoff," she murmured into his chest. A soft smile lit up his face. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed the top of her forehead.

"It wouldn't have been much fun without you," came the reply.

Anna rested her head against Kristoff's shoulder as they headed for the cabin. Her eyelids drooped heavily, exhaustion fighting her for control.

The sled jolted to a sudden halt awhile later. Anna shot upright and took in the sudden change in her surroundings. They were back in the small stable. This disoriented her as she stumbled out, her legs betraying her tired state.

"I guess I should head home now," she yawned.

Kristoff chuckled as the princess went over to her horse with the sureness of a drunk person.

"No way," he said firmly. She murmured an incoherent protest as he guided her inside his home. Kristoff drew back his bed sheets and picked her up, gently depositing her and drawing a blanket around her shoulders.

The ice harvester said something that her ears couldn't quite make out, and she drifted to sleep inhaling the comfortable smell of reindeer and man that made her feel so at ease.

Kristoff headed back out to give the princess some privacy and make a bed for himself in the hay loft.

"How did it go?" A familiar voice sounded behind him in the darkness. He spun around, taken by surprise.

"Elsa," he breathed, one hand on his chest. "You can't sneak up on people like that".

She smiled. "My apologies".

Kristoff's face burned with embarrassment as he realized that wasn't proper to talk to the queen like that. Flustered, he both bowed and curtsied, then stopped before he messed things up any more.

"How did Anna do her first time out?" Elsa asked again.

"Pretty good, for a beginner," Kristoff replied, thinking of the kiss they shared earlier. "If you've come to take her home, she's sleeping," he added hastily. That had to be why she was here.

Sven had sneaked up on them while they spoke, and now he was snuffling Elsa's dress, looking for handouts. Kristoff winced and waited for him to be shooed away. To his surprise, she patted the reindeer.

Elsa continued to stroke Sven's neck as she continued the conversation. "No, she's fine in your hands. Though I admit I worry about her sometimes. Anna's the only family I have left".

Kristoff nodded. If anything happened to Sven, he would lose a part of himself.

The snow queen moved her hands together in a tight circle, creating a small flurry of snowflakes. She opened her hands to reveal a perfect miniature ice model of Kristoff's reindeer companion and handed it over to the puzzled man.

"Anna told me you enjoy my work," she explained before mounting her horse and disappearing into the night.

Kristoff put the sculpture in the hay loft and watched it prance around his toes as he curled up in the hay. He drifted off to sleep, Anna's happy face swirling in his mind. The sculpture lingered in his thoughts the next morning as he watched the princess ride off into the forest. Was that Elsa's way of showing her approval?


End file.
